Where No One Goes
by Nargothrond
Summary: Alternate 3.19. What if Barf and Belch hadn't been around to rescue Hiccup from the dragon hunters? What if Dagur had other plans for Stoick's son? As Astrid, Toothless, and the dragon riders race to find their missing friend, Hiccup finds himself in a strange new land surrounded by even stranger people who have grievances against vikings, but might not be the actual enemy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So I've decided to take a break from LotR fanfiction (did I ever really even** _ **start**_ **?) And have some fun with HttyD. Its a series I'm very familiar with (my younger siblings watch it, like, almost every day) and its something that I can do in my hectic schedule with less stress and planning. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **Side note; this is NOT a Hiccup/Merida romance. They'll be spending time together (duh) but it won't go beyond friendship. This isn't a crossover romance (not that I have anything against those if done properly). But I prefer to each Dreamworks character their own. Besides, I like Astrid. :)**

 **.**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 **The Zippleback Experience**

….

Let the wind carry us

To the clouds, hurry up, alright

We can travel so far

As our eyes can see

….

Hiccup had seen a lot of things in his eighteen years, but the last two days' fiasco absolutely and completely 100% took the cake to a whole new level.

When living in the same one thousand mile radius as the Thorston twins, one never knew what major catastrophe to expect next, except that it was best to be nowhere near anything that could explode, melt, fall on your head, or be lit on fire when it happened. They were wild and crazy, and only Thor knew how the Thorstons (or anyone within said thousand miles) had survived this long except through sheer willpower.

But for all their utter ridiculousness the twins loved their dragon. No, scratch that, they _really_ loved their dragon. Hiccup had no problem with that. None whatsoever! He of all people understood what the prospect of losing a friend forever was like. They were Vikings! They didn't like to share their stuff.

But he wasn't okay with them trying to get him and/or Snotlout smited off the face of Midgard by an angry, overprotective, slightly crazy dragon. The twins _clearly_ hadn't thought that one through at all. _No_ , their 'risk assessments' didn't qualify as 'thinking it through'.

Hiccup paced back and forth across the room as he tried to formulate his words and sentences. From their perches on the stove, Tuffnut and Ruffnut watched him with mournful looks on their faces. Snotlout sat in a chair holding a cube of ice to his swelling jaw. Hiccup glanced at Toothless. The dragon watch everyone with his atypical serene green gaze. No backup there. Ugh, if only he could find a way to get _through_ to the mule-headed Thorston twins.

At last he said, "Well, a little warning would have been nice!"

Snotlout pointed accusingly at the twins. He tried to speak, but the bruising of his jaw prohibited this and the only thing that came out of was a garbled, "Mmf. Mm!"

Tuffnut looked particularly droopy. He scratched his blond dreadlocks with a sigh. "Well, to be honest, Hiccup, we figured out what was ruining our plans."

Nodding at her brother's words, Ruffnut sniffed disdainfully. "It was _you_."

Hiccup stared at them, bewildered. "Me?!"

"Yeah," muttered Tuffnut. "You, my friend, are a terrible actor."

Hiccup made a strangled noise at the back of his throat. This was all his fault because he couldn't act scared enough to convince Barf and Belch that he was in need of life-saving? "So you made Snotlout attack me? Why?"

"Er, _surprise_ is the word we prefer to use."

"We needed a real reaction from you," Tuffnut added

"And boy did we get one," Ruffnut snickered, nudging her brother and grinning. "Eh, Snotlout?"

Snotlout spluttered something unintelligible. Hiccup ignored him. The more he listened, the more he just wanted to hide in his hut with Toothless, plug his ears with wax, and sing la-la-la-la and let them all kill each other. Then he might at least get some peace and quiet. This was ridiculous.

"Unfortunately," Tuffnut went on. "We weren't expecting Thor's mighty hammer to meet Snotlout's paper jaw."

Okay, that one was on him. But Snotlout had asked for it. Even called Hiccup a coward and tried to hamstring him with an ax. But it wasn't like the twins were innocent! They'd been sitting up on the platform with a bowl of salted yakcorn (he was exaggerating, they hadn't actually had a bowl of yakcorn) watching the whole thing play out below without a single thought or regard for Snotlout's safety. Sure, the twins almost killed everyone on a daily basis but _this_ was over the line.

He dropped his face into his hands and sighed. "Oh, this situation has gotten way out of hand."

"Please, Hiccup, you gotta help us." Tuffnut begged. "We're completely lost without our dragon! We have nothing to live for! Don't you understand?

Half of that very short speech was pure Thorston melodrama but the earnest fear in Tuffnut's voice momentarily surprised Hiccup. These two were really scared of losing Barf and Belch for good.

But by this point, he was far too exasperated to feel a lot of sympathy.

"We will get you your dragon back," he said, "But you two have to stop. Stop your plans, stop your schemes, okay? I'm going to figure this out."

And then he'd walked out to think. Toothless had tried to follow, but Hiccup had - rather sharply - told him that he wanted to be _alone_ alone. The Night Fury hadn't like that one little bit and had even been a little hurt. It was obvious in the confusion in his green eyes. But Hiccup had gone anyway. He would apologize to Toothless later. Right now, he really needed some time alone to sort out his feelings and make a plan, a _real_ plan, one that did not involve the dragon riders losing a team member.

And that was what Hiccup was doing right now as he walked through the woods toward the beach. It was a quiet peaceful night, nothing like the last where a certain _someone_ had set his hut on fire. The warm breeze ruffled his hair and cooled his flushed face, clearing his head. Several times Hiccup stopped to listen for any sounds that Barf and Belch was following him. But he had seen the Zippleback fly away again toward the opposite side of the island, probably to get more fish to load into Hiccup's hut and dump on him later.

Well, at least Toothless wouldn't have to hunt tonight.

The thought of his best friend made Hiccup feel guilty. He shouldn't have given Toothless the cold shoulder. It wasn't the Night Fury's fault all of this craziness was happening. Likely he was off hiding in some remote part of the Edge plotting his revenge. Hopefully, in the morning when Hiccup actually managed to apologize, Toothless would accept his peace offering of a thirty-minute dragon massage, and not dump him out of the saddle into sticky mud puddles for a whole week.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut would try anything possible at this point. They were desperate. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to come up with a plan and fast, before things got even _more_ out of hand. Unfortunately, he was fresh out of ideas. They had already tried just about everything, and half of it had gone wrong. How many times could they tempt fate before something actually _killed_ him, or worse, one of the others? Toothless wouldn't always be around to save them.

Maybe Astrid would have some ideas. She was always logical and inventive. He'd ask her later.

Something rustled in the woods behind him. _Huh?_ Hiccup stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Nothing. The path was empty and silent. He started to walk again, then the rustling started up again, this time much closer.

A twig cracked loudly and Hiccup growled in annoyance. _Oh for the love of Thor,_ he thought as he clenched his fists and turned. That didn't sound like a Dragon following him, and the only other rider present for Hiccup's outburst had been Snotlout, who was too busy nursing his swollen jaw to care about anything else. So that let only two people who would bother to stalk him.

"Tuff! Ruff! I know its you!" He hollered. "This isn't funny! Get back to the huts _right now_ and be glad that Fishlegs has the last shift otherwise it would have your names on it, dragon or no!"

There was no response from the twins. Hopefully the threat of extra work would scare them off. Ohhh man, this was such a mess. Sighing, he turned his back on the path.

Hiccup yelped in surprise when a thick, smelly sack was pulled over his head and he was yanked aside and thrown on the ground. Hands grasped his wrists and quickly tied them behind him at the small of his back. A coarse rope was wound tightly around his arms, pinning them and further inhibiting his movement. Then he was picked up, thrown over someone's shoulder like a sack of viking potatoes, and being carried away amidst his protests.

"Gah! Ugh. Really, guys? What did I say?"

The person carrying him, Hiccup assumed it must be Tuffnut, was obviously in a hurry. Hiccup squirmed and wiggled as he tried to get free. Great. Absolutely spectacular. So it was the twins who will do the honors of dumping him in a pile of yak droppings. Could they be more immature?

"I said—I don't—argh, come on guys, I'm serious! Would you let me go? No, seriously, put me down!"

His protests fell on deaf ears. Hiccup resigned himself to a bumpy ride. The twins were mad at him, sure, but did that really merit tying him up and hauling him off to whatever nasty surprise awaited at… wherever he was being taken? Or was it just another attempt to win back their dragon? If that was the case, then now would be a great time for Barf and Belch to show up and 'save him'.

Yeah. Knowing the Zippleback it would probably be _after_ he smelled like yak dung and three day old codfish. _Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile._

"Guys," he yelled through the sack. Gods, it smelled like the dragon stable did after a week without cleaning. Couldn't they had least have _washed_ the bag? "I know that you want your dragon back, but isn't this a bit extreme? What are you doing?!"

A hand was gripping his legs to keep him from struggling. Hiccup's protest did not stop but he didn't struggle. _Who knows, maybe this newest crazy scheme might work._ Barf and Belch would save him, the life debt would be paid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut would get their beloved dragon back, and he and Toothless would finally be rid of the overenthusiastic Zippleback. Life could finally go back to normal on the Edge.

Maybe. If Barf and Belch didn't smite the twins with Logi's fire from above first. _Maybe_.

Sounds were muffled due to the sack, but Hiccup could hear the rush of water on the beach coming closer. Birds chirped sleepily in the trees. Brambles and twigs crunched underfoot, then became thumps as the rough ground turned into soft sand. Then loud clomping; Hiccup was being carried across the wooden dock, up.

He was starting to get irritated. "Okay, you've had your fun. Now let me go. I mean it, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Look, I want to get this life debt over with just as much as you two do, but is ridiculous! I don't think Barf and Belch will appreciate this in the slightest! You could get hurt! Guys. Guys!"

With a grunt, someone dumped him on the hard ground. The knot around his neck was undone, and Hiccup snapped as the sack was yanked off, "Okay. This is the single worst plan you have ever come up with."

"Oh, I don't know brother…"

Hiccup found himself facing the red-haired scarred face of none other than Dagur the Deranged, an enemy of Berk and a hunter of dragons. Beside him stood Ryker Grimborn, arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You're our prisoner," Dagur went on, placing his hands on his hips and grinning. "Seems like a brilliant plan to me."

Hiccup's back was pressed against the main mast of a ship. His hands were bound and he was surrounded by dragon hunters. His captors were two of the most ruthless men in the Norse seas. This wasn't a revenge prank. This was a kidnapping.

Oh gods. Astrid was going to kill him.

* * *

 **Review if you want to. Next update should be sometime next week.**


	2. No Way Out

**CHAPTER TWO**

 **No Way Out**

...

Astrid wiped her sweaty brow. The sun had gone down awhile ago, but she still felt hot and her limbs were aching and sore. Not that she minded. Never in her life had Astrid been a dainty lass. She was used to hard work.

As she and Fishlegs stepped into the Clubhouse, they were confronted with the sight of Toothless sitting in front, staring out toward the sea. His long tail whipped slowly back and forth in growing impatience. The expression on his face could only be described as grim; for a dragon, that is, though Toothless could act surprisingly human at times.

"What's Toothless doing here?" She murmured quietly, not wanting to disturb the Night Fury from his brooding. She glanced around the otherwise empty room. "Where's Hiccup?"

Fishlegs scratched his jaw. "I don't know. Last time I saw him he was heading over here."

Snotlout chose that exact moment to come sauntering in. But his usual self-important swagger was impaired by the slightly swollen, obviously bruised state of his jaw.

Astrid's eyebrows went up. "Snotlout, what happened to your jaw?"

"Uh, _Hiccup_ Haddock happened!" the other viking yelled, waving his arms. "Ya know? The oh-so-always-composed son of Stoick the Vast who calls himself our leader! Guy just up and punched my face with his scrawny little fists because I challenged him to a duel! It was completely unwarranted."

Ruffnut poked her head around the corner and grinned. " _After_ you punched him in the face first," she said.

"And almost killed him with an ax. Twice," Tuffnut raised his hands and counted off his fingers. "So that means double the offense. Like, literally, since you did it twice. _And_ you called him a coward to his face. Insulting a viking's bravery was not a very smart move, my friend."

Fishlegs peered at the bruises. "You should probably keep some ice on that to keep the swelling down," he said.

"No _duh_ genius, I already did that!" Snotlout glared at him.

"And where is Hiccup now?" Astrid asked the twins.

The twins shook their heads. "We were about to ask _you_ guys that," Ruffnut said, scowling. "He bailed on us, and guess who's gone too! Can't trust anybody these days." She crossed her arms and huffed.

Tuffnut heaved a longing sigh. "They're probably out there having the time of their lives, blasting everything in sight. Remember when random destruction was our thing?"

Ruffnut swiped an invisible tear. "Seems like yesterday."

"It was. It actually was."

Astrid glanced at Toothless. The Night Fury's dark form was outlined by the shining stars in the sky beyond. He was stiff and tense; completely still, except for his tail, which continued to sweep the floor in agitated flicks. A knot of worry quickly formed in Astrid's stomach. She tried to tell herself that she was overreacting; Hiccup was fine. He was an adult. He'd just needed some space and gone out into the woods by himself for some peace and quiet.

 _By himself_. Without Toothless with him in case danger happened.

 _Something's wrong,_ Astrid thought. _If Toothless is here, and Hiccup's out there all alone..._

"I don't like this," she said, turning to the others. "When did he walk off?"

"About an hour ago." Ruffnut said.

Dumping the chopped wood in her arms into the bin, Astrid turned away and strode out of the Clubhouse toward her hut. An hour. She would wait one more hour. If Hiccup wasn't back by then, she would go looking for him.

* * *

The sails swelled as the wind picked up. Sea spray splashed over the rails, sloshing onto the deck. The dragon hunters' ship was moving swiftly and silently away from the Edge. Away from the others, away from Toothless. The mighty ocean awaited; a seemingly endless expanse of blue waves. Soon he would be swallowed up, lost, a small boat being forcibly sunk by a much bigger boat.

As soon as Hiccup got over his shock at seeing Dagur, a wave of anger washed over him like a tsunami. It was unlike anything he had felt before. Quickly following on the heels of this emotion was the paralyzing needles of fear that pricked at his heart. He was the prisoner of a madman—no, make that _two_ madman. Ryker was quickly catching up on the list of crazies that terrorized the Norse seas.

 _This is bad,_ he thought, tugging at the ropes tying his wrists. _This is very, very bad._

They wouldn't kill him. Not after going to all the trouble of making sure he was alone and then kidnapping him.

He disliked feeling helpless. Disappointing? Story of his life. Stupid? As if he needed help with that. But held at swordpoint by his enemy? Nope. Pass on that one. He'd take the stupid any day.

A pair of heavy boots entered his vision. Dagur stood over him, arms crossed and a smirk adorning his scarred face, which looked more hideous than usual. All Hiccup could do was sit and glare darkly up at his enemy, who chuckled in amusement.

"So, brother, it looks like your little island stronghold isn't so strong after all. It's completely unguarded from the North. You know, it doesn't take much to put in a watchtower."

Hiccup glared. Dagur glanced to Ryker with a shrug. "No watchtower? I mean, what would you do without a watchtower? It's preposterous!"

Hiccup's glare deepened to a glower, and his lip curled back just enough to show his teeth. Dagur began pacing, using his height and advantage to try and intimidate his prisoner while he gleefully outlined what he planned to do with the young dragon trainer.

"We are going to extract every little piece of dragon knowledge from that tiny coconut shaped noggin," he crowed gleefully. "We're going to use you to take us to every island that Dragon Eye has led you to!"

Hiccup's voice was low and challenging. "And if I don't?"

Metal screeched as Ryker drew his sword, leveling the blade at Hiccup's throat. Moonlight glinted off the length of the blade, where it was untarnished. "Oh ho ho, I _hope_ you don't," he sneered.

Hiccup eyed the sword and then the man holding it with utter loathing. So that was why they were here; to get information out of him, and by any means possible. A cold knot formed in the pit of his stomach. "Where are you taking me?" he demanded.

Dagur ruffled his hair mockingly. "Funny you should ask that, because we have a totally new destination in mind. Don't worry though, the folks are all still the same wonderful Berk haters that we both like! I'm afraid you'll have to halt construction on the new watchtower, my dear Hiccup Haddock, because you and I and Ryker here are gonna be taking a long vacation!"

"Don't play games with me, Dagur! Seriously, where are we going?"

"That," the hunter stood up and grinned. "Is a surprise. I'm sure you'll love it there. But before that the next few days might get a little uncomfortable. After all, who said torture was fun? Ha ha ha! In the meantime," he gestured for two of the hunters to come forward, "This ship has some nice accommodations."

"I will _never_ reveal the secrets of the dragons to you or any other Berserker."

Dagur scoffed. "Tough talk coming from someone who is, oh I don't know, tied up and at our mercy. You see, brother, you don't have any choice. You are going to take us to every island or Ryker here will improve his artistry skills on your face. How does that sound?"

"You're going to regret this, Dagur. I promise you that. Toothless _will_ find me." When he didn't come back the other would realize something was amiss. Toothless could track his scent. He would follow the trail down to the dock. Once Astrid realized what had happened, she would organize the riders, hunt Ryker's ship down and send it to the bottom. He had faith in her.

"Oh, I'm not so sure of that."

Dagur reached into his chest and pulled out a leather pouch. Inside was a powdery substance, pale white flecked with bits of yellow. "I made this stuff myself from certain kinds of herbs that grow in," he waved one hand, "Various places. It throws off a dragon's scent of smell. My men scattered it around the path while they kidnapped you. Your Night Fury and his friends won't be tracking you down anytime soon. Genius right? Ha ha ha!"

He broke off into cackles of insane laughter.

Ryker, who had been silent this whole time, glared at the still chortling Berserker then turned to two dragon hunters. "Take him below deck. Make sure he is secured." His gaze met Hiccup's as two men dragged him to his mismatched feet, filled with a sadistic gleam that made the boy shiver. "I'll be by later for a little. . . talk."

Gripping him tightly by his arms, the dragon hunters escorted Hiccup none too gently down into the brig. It was dank and smelled strongly of mildew and rotting fish guts. Cobwebs clustered in the corners, half-hidden in oily darkness.

"Nice play you have here," Hiccup remarked, looking around. "The cheerful atmosphere is overwhelming—agh!"

They hurtled him into a tiny room and slammed the door shut with an ominous thud. Hiccup staggered forward and tripped. His forehead slammed into the wall. White hot pain flashed through his head and he fell to the slimy floor, gasping like a codfish out of water, until the pain gradually receded.

He moaned slightly and sat up with a grimace. A hot, pulsing throb began behind his temples. As soon as the world quit spinning, he glanced around his tiny prison. It was appropriately depressing. Cold and silent. There wasn't much to see. It was pitch black. There was not a single window to allow light into the tiny cell. No bars, no chains, no hooks, nothing that could be used in an escape.

He could hear the waves splashing against the sides of the ship, which had picked up the pace. Creaks and groans, and the pounding of his own heart, filled the empty silence.

Hiccup spent awhile wiggling his hands in an attempt to get them free. His hands were going numb from the tightness. If he could just find and undo the knot, his chances of escaping would be higher. Bound he was helpless.

Unfortunately, whoever had tied him up knew what they were doing. The coarse rope felt like a mass of tangles and knots, and Hiccup's wrists were soon scraped raw from his struggles. Sighing, the boy leaned against the wall and stared into the darkness. He would not be able to sleep in this depressing pit hole.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

Thank the gods that he'd told Toothless to stay behind. If the Night Fury had come then Ryker and his men would have captured him as well. At least his best friend and the others were at the Edge safe and sound.

He needed a plan to escape. Now. Before it was too late.


End file.
